Otis Sanford: Witness to gang crime an example of courage

I don’t know his true identity. That’s fine with me, and safe for him. All I know is that he’s 49.

Last month, he was a witness to an apparent gang-related killing. But instead of retreating to the shadows, Mr. Anonymous came forward and identified the man he says pulled the trigger.

Not once but twice, Mr. Anonymous fingered reputed gang member Devin Cole, 25, as the gunslinger who ended the life of Demetrius Ray.

Mr. Anonymous, who was walking home March 1 when he witnessed the ambush, first picked Cole out of a photo lineup. Last week, he showed up at General Sessions Court during Cole’s preliminary hearing. And he pointed directly to Cole as the man who ran beside Mr. Anonymous’ duplex that day and, seconds later, fatally shot Ray, 24, who was sitting in a car.

Hooray.

I don’t know whether Cole is guilty or not. That will be determined later. But I do know that Mr. Anonymous showed tremendous courage by coming forward to tell authorities what he saw.

It would have been easy for him to pull a Sgt. Schultz and simply say, “I know nothing.” That happens far too frequently in this community, particularly with family and friends of violent gang members.

But I believe Mr. Anonymous is like most of us. He’s tired of the gang culture that is encroaching more and more into the lives of law-abiding citizens.

This recent spate of gang violence includes a fatal attack Feb. 28 at a Citgo gas station in Parkway Village. That was followed the next day by the shooting death of Ray.

Five days later, retaliating gang members shot and wounded a 22-year-old suspected member of a rival gang at an air-brushing kiosk inside Oak Court Mall.

And three days after that, someone described as a “key witness” to the March 1 fatal shooting said he was shot at by two gunmen, and had to run for cover.

Enough already.

We’ve known for years — no, decades — that Memphis is saturated with street gangs. They carry names such as the Piru Bloods and Hoover Street Crips. Before that it was the Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords.

But no matter the flavor, this is a scourge on our community, and we have to fight back in whatever way we can. For most, that means supporting law enforcement’s effort to clean up the streets with aggressive — yet sensible — tactics.

For others, it means some kind of intervention through faith-based organizations and community groups that try to give young people an alternative to joining gangs.

And for people like Mr. Anonymous, it means courageously coming forward to expose gang crimes.

Hooray for all of them.

Columnist Otis Sanford holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism at the University of Memphis. Contact him at 901-678-3669 or at o.sanford@memphis.edu. Watch his commentaries on WREG-TV Channel 3 at 4:30 p.m. weekdays.